With the aim of highlighting the research projects being done by young people on the roles, concerns and complexities that are shaping their lives, the first research forum of the Young Researchers’ Collective (YRC) will be held on January 20- 21, 2012, at the Western Province Aesthetic Resort in Colombo.
The forum will feature a collection of papers from a wide variety of topics ranging from the introduction of private universities, to Facebook, under the broader theme of “Youth Voices in Post-War Sri Lanka: Challenges, Aspirations and Opportunities for Transformation.” The forum will provide a platform for young researchers across the country to share their research on issues that are important to them and their communities. Being the first of its kind in the country, the forum has attracted the attention of many young people from different backgrounds and geographic locations, from students to university lecturers to lawyers which would represent the ideas and opinions of a variety of Sri Lankan youth.
“After the end of the war many of the issues that had been subverted because of the war are starting to become apparent again. That is why we decided to focus on this topic which would provide young people the space to speak openly about the challenges, aspirations and opportunities available to them and their communities and how this is shaping their lives and work in post-war Sri Lanka” explained Andi Schubert , Co-founder, and Co-ordinator of the Young Researchers’ Collective, speaking about the forum.
Founded in May 2010, The Young Researchers’ Collective was formed to address the lack of a proper space through which young people interested in research could come together to discuss their research and support each other in there work.
“There were several pressing issues that pushed us forward in forming the YRC. The main reason in forming the YRC was to develop a network that can represent the interests of young researchers committed to linking their research with advocacy and activism. Our main aim is to address the disconnection between research and action. Generally researchers tend to think of their research as being self-contained - you do research and that’s the end of your job.
Far less attention is paid to actually building on that research and using it to address the issues of your community/the community you have worked with. We believe research must have a larger impact on society and social relationships, and we are trying to promote and amplify this kind of research done by young people. As we believe that in a country like Sri Lanka which is currently in a post-war phase, there are so many issues cropping up where we need to go beyond theory, to not just understand, but intervene or support interventions” Schubert says, explaining the purpose of the YRC.
Schubert points out that despite three youth insurrections in the past, there has been little done to give a voice to youth concerns and issues faced by the youth of the country to mainstream. “Young people are generally depicted as a problem requiring a solution. We hoped that the moves to re-draft a National Youth Policy would significantly change this perception and we hoped that we could support the process. There was a serious lack of support structures for young researchers.
Apart from that existing support structures within universities for example place a great deal of emphasis on academic qualifications etc which many young people are still in the process of acquiring. Similarly opportunities for training, publication and skills development too are rather limited for young people. The YRC was formed to remedy this at-least to some degree and we hope we will inspire young researchers around the country to come together and form similar groups”
So far, the YRC has conducted a number of workshops and training sessions on research Methodology for young researchers across the country which gave many an opportunity learn from some of the a leading academics in the country.
Further, the YRC is also in the process of building a knowledge base on youth in Sri Lanka which would be accessible for any researcher or interested persons via their website. They have already completed a bibliography on young researchers and are in the process of compiling a statistics package on youth in the country.
The Young Researchers’ Collective hopes to hold the ‘Young Researchers’ Forum’ as an annual event, but also hopes that the forum will be a launching pad for regular and sustained discussion, debate and collaboration among young researchers across the country.
For further details or to register for the Young Researchers’ Forum, visit http://theyrc.org/events-discussions/the-young-researchers-forum-2012-2 or contact YRC at forum@theyrc.org or visit their website www.theyrc.org
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